Times Union-
NORTH MANCHESTER – Town manager Dave Schoeff resigned unexpectedly two weeks before the most recent town council meeting.
Not much notice was given and council members said they are still surprised by the decision. Carrie Mugford will be the interim town manager until the position can be filled.
Police chief Jeff Perry announced to the town council that he wants to retire this year after 41 years of service in the community. The retirement was not scheduled in the agenda and will undergo consideration at next month’s meeting. The town council will prepare to give him a good send off when the time comes, they said.
Fire truck No. 602 of the North Manchester Fire Department will be up for bid. It came with the original firehouse location in town and was built smaller to fit that building. It is too small to carry all the equipment that their other vehicle can.
Fire Chief Cam Kissinger already looked into refurbishing the vehicle, but it would not be worth the expense and would not meet the standards of the other fire truck in use. It is believed that the department could sell it for a much higher price if they sold it themselves, so Kissinger asked the town council for permission to sell the vehicle. The profit would then go toward a new fire truck before any other funds would be used.
Golf cart regulation will soon be in place in North Manchester. An increase of golf carts and UTVs have emerged in town. Two main concerns have arisen with their use: the amount of minors operating the vehicles and a lack of illumination at dusk.
Some basic regulations include a minimum age of 16 for driving the vehicles on the road. The operator must have a valid driver’s license and insurance to be sure that if there are any issues one could be held accountable. Golf carts and UTVs also must have headlights, taillights, brake lights, turn signals and a slow-moving vehicle sign to be considered a safe vehicle for the road.
“No one has not noticed the golf carts,” Chalmer Tobias said to the board on the matter. “We need restrictions because it is safer. We asked around and no one we talked to opposed the idea.”
There were concerns before and after the meeting from a visitor about a local fence creating a blind spot in a key area while driving. Two Saturdays ago the man and his wife were using the city parking lot and were exiting into the alley. A man’s fence neighboring the parking lot nearly caused the couple to have an accident. He brought photos to the town council and he discussed the matter with four members prior to the meeting to express his concern.
The man did get permission to build the fence and the concerned visitor respects his right, but wants to request that the tallest section of the fence be lowered.
“If it were a shrub then town council would simply tell him to cut it,” he explained reasonably.
It will take more time to look into finding a solution, but until then caution is advised.
Keri Koenig
Correspondent
